Our rules for sponsors.

Why there is advertising at all

Morning Courier is free to read. Readers who choose to support it cover most of the cost; a small number of local sponsors will, in time, cover the rest. Sponsorship is clearly labelled, kept apart from the news, and never involves passing on anything about our subscribers. The rules below apply to every sponsor, without exception.

Who we will take

Local businesses and organisations with something genuinely useful to people living in the city an edition covers — services, venues, events, shops, charities and community groups. One sponsor per edition. Every prospective sponsor is reviewed by the editor before anything is agreed, and we don't publish a rate card; you ask, and a person replies.

How a sponsor's message appears

In its own block, marked as sponsored, in the sponsor's words and visibly separate from editorial content. It is never presented as a story, a tip or an editor's pick. If there is any chance a reader could mistake paid content for our own, we label it in plain words rather than with a symbol in the small print, in line with the CAP Code's rule that advertising must be obviously identifiable.

What we refuse

Anything our readers would be right to distrust: gambling and betting; payday and high-cost credit; get-rich-quick, cryptocurrency and 'passive income' schemes; multi-level marketing; unproven health products and miracle cures; political parties, candidates and campaigning groups; and anything that resembles a scam, however presented. We also refuse advertising that would not comply with the Advertising Standards Authority's codes. The editor's decision is final.

Editorial independence

Sponsors don't see stories before publication, don't choose what we cover and don't get gentler coverage for paying. If a sponsor is in the news we report it as we would anyone else. Our editorial policy sets this out in more detail.

Subscriber data

We never sell, rent or share subscriber details with sponsors or anyone else. Sponsors see audience figures in aggregate — readership and open rates — never individual readers. Our privacy policy has the rest.

Affiliate links

We don't currently use affiliate links. If we start, our editorial policy will say where they appear and how they are marked.

Enquiries

Write to the editor at nathan@morningcourier.co.uk with who you are, which city you'd like to reach and roughly when. You'll hear back from a person, normally within a working day.